Huawei MateBook D 16: Two minute overview
Ah, the Huawei MateBook lineup. It’s lengthy been the go-to sequence for these on the hunt for a clean-looking, respectable laptop computer, with an honest spec listing in addition, and this 12 months’s mannequin, the 2024 version, actually doesn’t disappoint in that area.
It’s truly fairly a unprecedented unit proper from the get-go, because it’s accessible in an enormous variety of completely different specs. In reality, there are 5 complete, ranging all the way in which from the Core i5-12450H, full with 8GB of DRAM, and 512GB of storage, all the way in which to the mannequin I’ve right here, that includes the Core i9-13900H and amping as much as 16GB of DDR5 and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.
On the floor, the construct high quality is pretty respectable, significantly for the value. You get a pleasant modern aluminum end, full with a full-size keyboard, healthy-sized trackpad, and a ravishing display that lacks a lot in the way in which of a bezel. There are a ton of ports on board, and the branding is refined and refined. It’s very a lot an XPS imitator in loads of methods, simply at a significantly cheaper price.
Where that refinement ends, nonetheless, happens if you begin truly utilizing the factor. Sadly, the keyboard simply isn’t as much as spec. It feels spongy to the contact and lacks any type of satisfying tactile suggestions in comparison with different choices accessible at this worth level or above. It’s unquestionably. Its one saving grace is that it’s fairly quiet due to that. The trackpad alongside that, is massive and works simply nice, however once more, nothing significantly to jot down house about.
As for efficiency, effectively it’s actually there. In day-to-day duties and light-weight workplace work, the Huawei MateBook does exceedingly effectively. It’s fast, easy, and paired with that IPS panel, makes for a nice expertise. If you do must do something extra advanced, involving any type of GPU nonetheless, you’re going to be fairly disenchanted, as Intel Iris is kind of restricted in what it’s able to, compared to one thing like a devoted GPU from Nvidia or AMD.
Still, in the event you can look previous that, and its clumsy software program (extra on that later), the Huawei MateBook D 16 2024 makes for a tempting supply, significantly at its £1200 / €1300 worth level.
Huawei MateBook D 16: Price and availability
- How a lot does it value? Starting at £500 / €600
- When is it out? Available now
- Where are you able to get it? Available within the UK and the EU
The Huawei MateBook D 16 2024 is on the market now within the UK and the EU, beginning at £500 / €600 (round $650). For that funding you get your self a 16-inch display with a 1920×1200 IPS show, 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12450H CPU, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
The overview unit I’ve in for testing is on the market for £1200 / €1300. This upgrades you to 16GB of LPDDR4X reminiscence, alongside a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a CPU improve to the Intel Core i9-13900H, taking you from 8 cores and 12 threads to 14 cores and 20 threads as an alternative.
Bear in thoughts that due to the US authorities’s ban on Huawei merchandise, you may’t purchase this at retailers in America – although importing is all the time an possibility, and given the low entry worth, it may very well be a great way to snag a great-value laptop computer in the event you’re within the US.
Huawei MateBook D 16: Specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Base configuration | Midrange configuration | Review (Max) configuration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £500 / €600 | £700 / €800 | £1200 / €1300 |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-12450H | Intel Core i5-13420H | Intel Core i9-13900H |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics for 12th-gen | Intel UHD Graphics for 13th-gen | Intel Iris XE Graphics |
| Memory | 8GB LPDDR4x | 16GB LPDDR4x | 16GB LPDDR4x |
| Storage | 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD | 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD | 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSD |
| Display | 16-inch FHD+ (1920×1200) IPS, 300-nits | 16-inch FHD+ (1920×1200) IPS, 300-nits | 16-inch FHD+ (1920×1200) IPS, 300-nits |
Huawei MateBook D 16: Design
- Fantastic supplies all through
- Good wanting styling
- Solid I/O Options
Huawei is unquestionably attempting to focus on that XPS market with its MateBook Vision line. One look at its exterior, and also you’ll discover the similarities between the 2. The MateBook has an exceedingly slim kind issue, measuring simply 17mm in top, and coming in at a powerful 1.72 kg to pack all of it collectively. Huawei has gone for a easy aluminum end throughout the MateBook, giving it an impressively svelte look.
All different branding is pretty subdued as effectively. There’s a Huawei emblem on the again embossed in a mirror end, and a smaller emblem located within the heart of the underside most display bezel. Speaking of screens, the MateBook D 16, includes a 16-inch 1920×1200 FHD+ IPS show, full with a peak brightness of 300 nits. It’s crisp and clear due to that 142 pixel density, and truly has some fairly stellar stats to again it up as effectively, not least of all together with a 1200:1 distinction ratio, and 100% sRGB compatibility, all due to that IPS show at its coronary heart.
Over my time testing the MateBook, its colour accuracy by no means wavered on that entrance. Combine that with the slim bezel, and never significantly obtrusive inbuilt webcam (which I’ll say now, is pretty much as good as you’d count on for a tiny 720p unit), and the display itself is a genuinely respectable expertise throughout.
Then we get onto the keyboard, and effectively, it’s a bit underwhelming, to say the least. Spongey is the phrase. It lacks any actual tactile suggestions, and though is well-illuminated due to some respectable white LED backlighting, it simply feels horrendous to make use of. It’s practical, positive, but it surely lacks the premium really feel we’re beginning to see in loads of laptop computer keyboards at this worth level. And that’s not devoted mechanical keyboards I’m speaking about right here both.
Likewise, the trackpad is ok, it is suitably massive sufficient and clicks effectively on the underside left and proper sides, however once more, isn’t precisely something to jot down house about. Not that that’s essentially a foul factor relating to trackpads.
For ports, there’s not an enormous quantity right here, however the bases are lined. You get one USB Type C, one USB 3.2 Type A, one USB 2.0 Type A, a HDMI, and a 3.5mm 4 pole combi jack. It’s not an enormous array of ports by any measure, you’ll most likely want an honest USB dock in the event you’re wanting to make use of the MateBook in a extra superior setup, but it surely’s sufficient for on the fly.
Audio is sufficient bugbear for positive. You get down-firing audio system on the MateBook, that are nice. Volume is nice, nonetheless as a consequence of an absence of bass and decrease finish of the mids, you’re going to search out most audio is mostly fairly tinny, and sharp on the listening to compared to one thing extra refined discovered within the likes of a Dell XPS or Asus ROG Zephyrus.
Huawei MateBook D 16: Performance
- Decent productiveness efficiency
- Gaming is non-existent
On to efficiency, and it’s honest to say that the Huawei MateBook D 16, is actually missing on this space. If you’re seeking to do any type of gaming or inventive skilled work, you’re much better off wanting elsewhere. That lack of a devoted GPU, even with Intel’s Iris graphics backing it up in my overview mannequin, sadly isn’t sufficient to supply any concrete efficiency boosts in comparison with some different units at round these worth factors.
In reality, you’d be much better off sacrificing the glitz and glam of the skilled design and choosing one of many higher gaming laptops as an alternative at round this worth, if that is what you are on the lookout for.
At its coronary heart, the CPU inside my overview unit is definitely pretty respectable for a light-weight cellular processor. The Intel Core i9-13900H comes with a complete of 14 cores. Six efficiency cores (these are the full-fat, processors, full with hyperthreading that prioritizes excessive load duties, resembling rendering, and managing massive knowledge units), and eight Efficient-cores (designed to essentially handle background duties and low energy operations, resembling phrase processor, or Discord, or Slack for instance). That provides you 20 threads to play with, and customarily, it does pretty effectively in our benchmark checks.
In GeekBench 6.2.1, it scored a powerful 12,568 factors in its multi-core take a look at, placing it simply behind a Ryzen 5 7600X, full-size desktop processor. What’s extra spectacular was the single-core nonetheless, which racked up an index of simply 2,605, that’s not far off an Intel Core i5-14600Ok desktop processor, or AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D both. Combine that with a wholesome chunk of DDR4 RAM, courtesy of the 16GB of LPDDR4X and this ain’t half unhealthy at Photoshop work both.
Another reasonably spectacular space, significantly given the value is that SSD too. A fast run by way of CrystalDiskMark noticed sequential reads high out at 4,905 MB/s and browse at 3,952 MB/s making it an impressively zippy drive.
Getting into gaming, nonetheless, was one other matter. I ran a complete of 5 benchmarks on the Huawei MateBook D 16, to gauge the way it carried out right here. In Borderlands 3, it scored simply 10.27 fps at 1920×1200, on the Ultra preset, removed from playable. Total War: Warhammer III, netted a extra palatable 33.9 fps, however with one main caveat the graphical preset was set to “Low”. Any larger than that, even “medium” would consequence within the recreation instantly crashing, as a consequence of an absence of reminiscence.
Similarly, I additionally ran it by way of a few 3D Mark checks. With Wildlife Extreme scoring 13,731, and Solar Bay (the cellular ray tracing take a look at) not being accessible, as once more, no devoted GPU, means no devoted ray tracing sadly.
Huawei MateBook D 16: Battery life
- Intel Evo effectivity is unmatched
- Charges quick
Battery life throughout my time testing the Huawei MateBook D 16 was usually superb. I simply bought a stable seven to eight hours out of it, with mixed-use, earlier than needing to recharge. Doing every thing from very mild informal gaming to watching YouTube, and responding to emails and work.
If you do determine to recreation, you’ll seemingly not see greater than 1-2 hours of use out of it, because it doesn’t have a large battery, however as there isn’t a devoted graphics card right here, the CPU is doing loads of the heavy lifting and is proscribed considerably in that regard. You’ll seemingly need to plug it in too, in the event you can in that scenario, as the ability plans received’t offer you full turbo speeds that you simply’ll actually need to make the most of.
That mentioned, it does cost rapidly as effectively, due to an included 65W adapter.
Should you purchase a Huawei MateBook D 16?
Buy it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
Also think about
Huawei MateBook D 16: Report card
| Value | The Huawei MateBook is surprisingly well-kitted out, at the very least on the CPU and SSD entrance. However it does lack a GPU, and a number of the construct high quality may very well be higher. | 4 / 5 |
| Design | That keyboard shouldn’t be fairly as enjoyable as we had been hoping, and will severely use an improve. Otherwise, the D’s clear design does lend itself effectively to an expert atmosphere. | 3.5 / 5 |
| Performance | Hopefully, mild productiveness work and a little bit of Photoshop is all you’re on the lookout for on this laptop computer, in any other case, you is perhaps disenchanted, as gaming and rendering are duds. | 3 / 5 |
| Battery Life | All-round battery life is stable, and it fees rapidly too. Just be sure that it’s plugged in in the event you do determine to recreation for longer than 5 minutes. | 4 / 5 |
| Total | The MateBook D 16 is remarkably common, and it reveals. It seems nice and the spec on paper appears stable, but it surely’s one too many hiccups away from being an ideal choose. | 3.625 / 5 |
We delight ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing course of, providing up long-term consideration to the merchandise we overview and ensuring our critiques are up to date and maintained – no matter when a tool was launched, in the event you can nonetheless purchase it, it is on our radar.
- First reviewed April 2024